Taberna, Fides et Sapientia
by samurai girl93
Summary: When the only heir to the Konoha Empire finally reaches the age to assume the throne, does she submit to the Viceroy's plans and marry an ally putting herself in danger or does she depend on her secret Imperial Guard  AU fanfiction for LJ
1. Rememberance

Chapter 1

_**REMEMBERANCE**_

_**~ . ~ . ~ . ~**_

_When she awoke, the first thing she felt was heat; the scoring heat of burning flames. Her viridian eyes opened quickly, becoming quite startled with the scene before her – the carriage in which she was travelling lay upturned on the forest floor next to her, covered with crimson flames. Her hands and pink kimono were drenched with the mud she lay in and her porcelain cheeks and __flamboyant__ pink hair were blackened with soot._

"_Mother…. Father…." The little princess sat up warily looking around for any sign of her parents, clutching the closest and most familiar thing within her reach – a doll made of cloth wearing a similar kimono to hers and never fading smile sewn into the fabric. She struggled to get to her feet and her eyes, squint, as she searched in frantic for Emperor Haruno and his consort. She heard the muffled screams coming from the carriage and immediately ran in that direction to investigate. She had only ran a few spaces before her when someone with an iron grasp, grabbed her arm, preventing her from progressing any further. _

_The air was laced with smoke, so thick that she could not make out the hand clutching her upper arm. Nor could she make out the face of the person dragging her away from the immense fire. She instantly tried to pull away from the stranger's clutches to return to the area where her precious belongings were._

"_No Princess Sakura!" the woman shouted at her as she tried to regain her hold on the young girl's hand. She looked up at the woman only to notice her deep purple billowing travelling robes with the Haruno clan's insignia on her coattail._

"_Shizune-san!" she called in an attempt to get her attention. "Wait, please…"_

"_We cannot wait your Highness!" she called back over the loud crackling noise of the fire completely devouring the carriage and its contents. "Your safety is what is important right now."_

"_But what about my mother and father? Please Shizune-san!" she pleaded with her as she was continually being ushered away from the site._

_Her twenty-one year old lady in waiting ignored her as she tried her best to get back to the empire; for once Her Imperial Highness was within the boundaries of the land in which had now became hers, she would be safe from the assassins._

_But said Imperial Highness was not cooperating. She adamantly pulled her hand away from her and took off in the opposite direction leading directly back to the site in which the assassins had already taken the lives of her parents._

"_I need to get to them!" she thought as her short legs worked harder than usual to get her closer to her destination. "They have to be alive! They have to…"_

_Her thoughts were cut short when a something whizzed past her ear, slicing her across her left cheek before sinking deeply into the bark of the tree directly in front of her. _

_She gasped and her eyes widened with shock and immense fear as her finger tips touched the crimson drips of blood coating her cheek. Time seemed to slow down as the assassin, a man dressed in all black with a mask, which only showed his cold grey eyes, appeared in front armed with a with a single katana, brandishing its tip dangerously close to the little princess' throat. _

_Before the sharp edge could make contact with her skin, a small three-pronged dagger flew past the girl's skin, forcefully knocking the blade away from her. She looked to her right to glance at her savior._

_He was tall, much taller than her father and also unlike her father's reddish brown hair; this man had unusual silver hair which stuck up as though the strands were defying gravity. His face was masked with only a cloth that covered the lower path of his face. His chest plate and arm and shin guards were also different; they were silver metal plates, not bronze chain link like the palace guard._

_Suddenly he moved. One moment he was standing on the edge of the precipice overlooking the forest, ten feet in the air and half a mile away from her and now he was directly in front of her blocking her small silhouette from the assassin's view._

_He looked back at me to look at me. His sudden movement had startled the girl causing her stumble backwards in shock, tripping over her kimono. She chanced a look at his face. His face wasn't any clearer now than it was before but it was his eyes that caused her immediate hypnosis. She knew there was danger nearby, but for some reason her body was completely paralyzed preventing her from running towards Shizune, her only form of safety in this strange place. _

_But his eyes…_

_His right eye was as dark as the night sky. It gleamed in the fire light like steel being burned in a blacksmith's fire. His unruly silver gray hair fell onto his face covering his left eye. _

_But suddenly the locks moved, wafting in the breeze, unveiling the girl's savior most sinister possession – A red eye…_

Lady Sakura Haruno awoke from her slumber with a loud gasp.

* * *

><p>Sakura bolted upright breathing heavily. Beads of perspiration rained down her face, trailing from her prominent forehead, down her cheeks and dropping off her chin to fall between the valleys of her semi-exposed bosom in her yukata. She self-consciously tried to regain composure by getting her breathing back in line and pulling her collar and lapel of her clothing upwards over her exposed upper body, before anyone came in to see to the heir to the Haruno dynasty and soon-to-be supreme leader of the Konoha Empire.<p>

Sakura pushed the thick duvet off of her legs before getting out of bed. She took a few light steps over to the open window to gaze out at the grounds surrounding the Imperial Palace. By the look of the sky's pinkish hue, it was almost dawn.

The pink haired girl sighed. Tomorrow was the day she would be engaged to the heir to the noble house of Uchiha. She was twenty years old and, in her opinion, too young to call herself anyone's wife. Especially to someone as stuck up as Sasuke Uchiha. Her appointed guardian, a busty blonde-haired alcoholic woman by the name of Tsunade, was also of the same mind. When the Viceroy of the Empire, Shimura Danzo, had announced one month previously that in order for her to take up her rightful place as empress she needed to be married, Tsunade's anger knew no bounds. And this is just saying it lightly since the woman had taken it upon herself to curse the man, who ran the empire for Sakura since her parents died, to hell and to pelt her sake bottle that she was drinking from, at his head.

Sakura was angry as well. She had always fantasied marrying a man out of love and not through an arrangement between the empire's spokesman and noble families. But she knew that Danzo was right. It was a part of her ancestry that in the event that a female was next in line, she must be married during her twentieth year before which she would assume the throne. So she had made a deal with Danzo – give her one month to find a husband and if she had fallen in love with someone before the month was over then she would not have to marry the Uchiha boy. But the one month was already up and Sakura had found no person suitable of her love. It looked as though she would end up with the noble's son after all.

A frown appeared on Sakura's face. All these thoughts about marriage were suffocating. She needed to get out. She slipped on her dark cloak and pulled the hood over her head to protect her from the dew outside. She quietly slipped through the double mahogany doors and walked briskly towards her father's private library to access the private staircase which leads to a secluded part of the palace gardens. She walked stealthily down the steep spiraling concrete stairs before pushing open a metal door at the base of the staircase.

The gardens were misted over in the early morn. Dew drops formed on the petals and leaves as though it had rained that night. Sakura walked towards the middle of the yard and took a deep breath, inhaling fresh air. She had always felt a sense of serenity in this place. It was her safe haven from the outside world. It was also the only place where she would cry, since it was an unspoken rule amongst her people – a weak leader is one who shows her tears. Or so Tsunade had whispered in her ear while the last rites were performed on her parents' remains.

The sun was rising slowly. A few bright rays hit her face causing her to shield her eyes with her hand on impulse. It was still too early for breakfast, too early for her to face Tsunade and Danzo, too late for her to face reality. She started to walk in an easterly direction, towards the royal cemetery which housed the corpses of all of her ancestors. Or in her parents' case, and empty tomb with their ashes siting in earns that probably cost as much as Sakura's team of Arabian horses. It would also be the place where she would rest in peace sometime. She maneuvered herself around the many tombstones towards the ones she need to see the most.

She stopped short in front of the two white marble tombstones with the kanji symbols engraved into the stone – _Here lies His Imperial Majesty Kizashi Haruno, the 42__nd__ leader of the Haruno dynasty and Emperor of Konoha and his wife Her Imperial Majesty Mebuki Haruno, matriarch of the Haruno dynasty and Empress of Konoha. _She knelt down in front of the marble and ran her fingertips along their names.

"It's been fifteen years," she whispered, "but somehow it felt has though it had only happened yesterday." Her mind recalling the nightmare she had woken up to that morning. Reliving her parents', and almost hers, assassination was not easy for her as a child. Usually her dreams showed the moment when the assassin had closed in on her ready to kill her, but last night was different. She had remembered being saved by a vigilante knight. A knight with abnormal silver, gravity-defying hair and a peculiar red eye.

She sighed again, her trembling fingers touching her mother's name in black. She knew that she needed her mother more than ever now. A single tear streaked down her cheek as she finally resigned herself to the notion that she was going to be Empress and a bride to boot. The month was up and she had no choice but to follow the legislation installed by the dynasty leaders.

"I'm going to have to marry him, mother," she admitted softly. "I have no choice. But I will be Empress and I will rule to the best of my ability. I won't let you both down."

* * *

><p>Lord Sasuke Uchiha was the coldest, most emotionless person that Sakura Haruno had ever laid her royal jade eyes on. When Danzo had introduced them, Lord Uchiha had bowed before the future Empress and brushed his lips against her knuckles. Even though he had shown her the utmost respect expected from her people, she could tell that his respect for her was really mockery and his so-called respectful bow looked too farce to be real. Tsunade, who was surprisingly sober on the occasion, snorted at the dark haired man and rolled her eyes and, while Danzo was busy ushering Sasuke into the palace, lagged behind to tease Sakura.<p>

"He's a real keeper isn't he, princess?" she chuckled.

Sakura didn't even waste her breath answering her guardian but stomped back into the palace in a much worse temper than usual.

Brunch was served on the patio. It was a very uncomfortable experience for Sakura. It was also extremely awkward since the Uchiha had yet to speak directly at her or her to him. The only person who attempted a conversation was Danzo and he kept going on, and on… and on! A nerve pulsed on the soon-to-be empress' forehead as she tried to drown out the viceroy's extremely aggravating voice. _This all because of him_, she though as she glared at the elderly man, who was telling the stoic guest about some stupid joke while the guest in question tried to ignore his words. Tsunade had, surprisingly, yet to make a cynical comment, which Sakura, who usually disliked Tsunade insulting their guests, was anticipating anxiously. But the woman in question was currently muttering to herself about the amount of alcohol she could but in her blackcurrant tea to make it even 'sweeter'.

Sakura decided to make the first move.

"… there was also the time when…"

"That's enough of your babbling Danzo!" stated Sakura as she brought her teacup to her lips. "You are boring our guest."

Danzo shot his empress with a sharp look which Sakura just returned. "My apologies, Your Imperial Majesty."

Sakura rolled her eyes and took a sip of her tea before addressing the young man before her. "How have you been Lord Uchiha? It has been what, a month since we last saw each other?"

"It has," he replied softly, inclining his head slightly before drinking from his own cup. "I hope everything has been well with you."

"You can say so," she replied, remembering her dream last night.

"Do you think that you're ready?" he asked.

Sakura's eyes narrowed on him. "Ready? For what exactly?"

"You know…. Your coronation, taking up the mantle from the previous Emperor and the Viceroy," he responded shrugging his shoulders. He paused and then look straight into her eyes, "And becoming my wife of course."

Sakura opened her mouth to answer but Danzo beat her to it. "I trust, Lord Uchiha that you would find all of the wedding preparations to your satisfaction…"

A nerve pulse on Tsunade's forehead. She clenched her teacup tightly in her hand and muttered darkly at Danzo, "You've been making the wedding preparations behind our backs, even though Lady Sakura hasn't given her consent to this engagement?"

Danzo's lone uncovered eye narrowed on Tsunade. "Well I have given the princess one month to find a suitable husband…"

"And the month isn't up yet," she argued.

"I agree with you Tsunade but we all know that she isn't going to fall in love with a man in the next twenty-four hours. Or maybe, I think that you just dislike the fact that I was able to make things easier for the princess as possible," he said with a sneer.

"I don't give a damn about what you think Danzo! And just so we're clear, I just don't particularly _like_ how you do _anything_ for that matter!" snarled Tsunade, gripping her cup so tight that it was threatening to shatter.

"Think you can do my job better than me, child?"

"I don't think so; I know so!"

"Everyone! Shut the hell up!" Three pairs of eyes shifted to Sakura who had bolted to her feet and yelled for silence.

"I am sick and tired of this!" she shrieked at her party in a most un-royalty-like way. She pointed a finger at Danzo. "I am not getting married to him, so you," her piercing stare turned on Sasuke, "can get the hell out of my palace." She pushed back her seat and briskly walked back into the house signaling for Tsunade to follow.

Tsunade waggled her eyebrows smirking at the viceroy as if to say that she had won and followed her mistress to her living quarters. "The nerve of him…" she grumbled sitting on the couch in Sakura's private living room. "I'm sick of him making all these bloody decisions for you, my lady."

Sakura sighed and sat opposite Tsunade. "Well I have no choice. Upon my father's death it was stated that since I, his only heir, was too young to accept the responsibility of the crown, a viceroy had to be elected from the empire's council."

"And that person just had to be Shimura Danzo huh?"

"Sadly, yes."

"My Lady," said Tsunade. "Isn't there a loophole in the marriage laws that we just haven't found yet?"

Sakura shook her head. "I can't officially become Empress without getting married. I've checked it over and over…" Her sentence was cut short by a yawn.

"You look tired my Lady," Tsunade commented, for the first time noticing the dark circles under her eyes. "Haven't you been sleeping well?"

"Actually, Lady Tsunade, I haven't," she responded rather hesitantly. "I've been having strange dreams recently."

Tsunade's amber eyes stared at the young pink-haired woman before her. "Strange dreams? Of what content?"

"Well this is where it gets stranger," Sakura responded, rubbing her neck, "I keep having nightmares about the day my parents died. I know I used to have these dreams before, but…"

"But what?"

"But now they're different. I keep remembering that while I tried to get away from the fire, there was this man who tried to kill me as well."

"What?" shrieked Tsunade. "You never said anything about that!"

"And that's not all," she continued, her jade eyes looking deep into her guardian's amber ones. "There was this man who jumped in front of me. He had silver grey hair, like a wolf's and the most sinister red eye…"

"A red eye?" mused Tsunade before she raised her eyebrows in shock. "Did you say he had grey hair?"

"Yes I did," answered Sakura whose eyes narrowed on Tsunade curiously. "What's the matter? Do you know the person?"

But Tsunade was only half-listening to her mistress. Instead she stood up and started pacing the room. "They still exist," she muttered.

"What are you speaking of?" Sakura questioned. "Who still exists?"

Tsunade didn't answer but ran to Sakura bedroom and grabbed a small velvet box from her vanity table thrust it into the young woman's hands. Sakura opened the box and took out a silver ring with Latin words engraved into the steel around the Haruno family's crest.

"Why have you brought my father's ring, Tsunade?"

"Tell me, You Imperial Majesty, can you read the inscription on the ring?"

Sakura held up the ring to her face and read aloud, "Taberna, Fides et Sapientia."

"Courage, Loyalty and Wisdom: the motto of the Imperial Guard."

"Wait a minute! Are you trying to tell me that the Imperial Guard still exists?" asked Sakura, incredulously. The Imperial Guard was comprised of six men from the six most dedicated households in the Konoha Empire – Hatake, Nara, Hyuga, Sarutobi, Namikaze and Shiranui. Each generation was required to produce a soldier to protect the Imperial family from behind the scenes.

"But I thought that the Imperial Guard was just a myth. My father didn't say anything about his guard."

"But they do exist, my Lady," insisted Tsunade. "The Imperial Guard works in the shadows, destroying anyone who threatens the Empire and the Imperial family. The mere fact that that Hatake boy was the one who rescued you from the assassin when you were a child means that they do in fact exist and a new generation of soldiers has been initiated."

"So how come I have absolutely no idea about this?" Sakura asked with irritation.

"Because you weren't ready for this my lady. Your father didn't want you to be burdened with the darker side of being the empress." Tsunade sighed and sat back into her chair, chewing on her nail in thought.

"What are you thinking about now, Tsunade?"

"I'm just curious about something. If the guard did step in fifteen years ago, then that arson attack was definitely deliberate."

Sakura's eyes widened. "So back then….when the dagger slashed my face…" she subconsciously touched the perfectly healed thin scar running across from her ear to her cheekbone.

"It was actually meant for your throat."

* * *

><p>He pulled the hood of his cloak further in an attempt to shield his eyes from the cold downpour. The rain drops pelted on his back like bullets from the heavens and he wanted nothing more to get out of this weather and a bowl of soup.<p>

His boots sloshed through the marshland as he trekked towards a small cottage on the only piece of consolidated land. He approached the door and after shifting his eyes around to make sure that he had not been followed, he rapped on the door with his knuckles three times before it opened revealing a youth with blond hair and deep blue eyes.

"You're late, Kakashi," he said stepping back to allow Kakashi to step over the threshold and into the hallway. The man pulled back his hood revealing his drenched silver grey hair that lay flat onto his skull.

"I'll apologize to the team during the meeting," he responded, removing his cloak and hanging it on a nail imbedded in the wall before him.

"Everyone's already waiting for us in the hall Kakashi," the boy responded and walked ahead on him into a small room to their right. It served as the dining room for the men and their meeting hall with its small round table with seven chairs, two of which were unoccupied at the moment. The red brick fireplace was lit and emitting a warm cozy fire which counteracted the chill of the weather outside.

Kakashi pulled down his mask and took his place next to an older man with similar grey hair who was sipping his coffee. "You're late Kakashi," he scolded.

Kakashi sighed and lounged in his chair. "I apologize father," he responded respectfully. "It was difficult to return undetected from the palace today."

"Oh?" questioned a brown-haired man whose feet were crossed on the table and was chewing on a blade of wheat. "And why's that?"

Kakashi rolled his eyes and before answering, raised his foot and pushed Genma Shiranui's feet off of the table. Genma swore as he lost his balance and fell to the floor.

"You know better than to put your feet on the table Genma," scolded a pasty young man with lavender eyes which were often referred to as emotionless pits. His long hair was pulled back in a ponytail and he was also the cleanest of all the men there.

"Oh fuck off Hyuga!" he retorted.

"Knock it off!" snapped the Sakumo Hatake. "Start acting you age Shiranui! There's work to be done." Genma muttered and apology to the older man, while scowling at Kakashi and the stoic Neji Hyuga.

Kakashi responded to Genma as though there were no interruptions, "Apparently Danzo's taken it upon himself to start the wedding preparations between the Empress and the Uchiha Lord."

"You've got to be kidding me," drawled Shikamaru Nara from his place next to Neji. He and Asuma Sarutobi were engaged in a stiff game of chess while the meeting proceeded. "Didn't he give her a month?" he asked while moving his bishop three places diagonally to call a check.

"Please! This is Shimura Danzo we're speaking of," responded Asuma, as he moved his queen forward, knocking the opposing bishop out of its place. "Since when has he done anything honestly?"

"He didn't give the poor girl a chance to find a husband, didn't he Kakashi?" added Naruto Uzumaki. Both he and Kakashi were the ones in charge of looking after the Emperor's daughter whenever she left the palace. "He always found an excuse to keep her away from talking to men in the Empire."

Kakashi hummed in agreement. He saw firsthand how guards always surrounded the young woman so that it was difficult for anyone to speak to her directly.

"Look, we know that Danzo is planning something to usurp the Empress and it is our responsibility as the Imperial Guard to protect her at all costs," said Sakumo causing everyone to straighten up and listen attentively.

He got up from his seat and went to the fireplace where a small velvet box lay. He opened the box and returned to the table where he placed a silver ring into his son's hand. "Kakashi Hatake, the leadership on the Imperial Guard has now been passed on to you. It is your responsibility that the Imperial Majesty and her immediate family are not harmed. Failure to do so is immediate death. Do you understand the magnitude of your position?"

Kakashi looked at his father with is mismatched eyes. "I understand."

"Do you accept these terms?"

"I do," he responded, closing his hand around the ring.

"Good now that we've got that sorted out," said Sakumo as he turned to rest of the guard. "These are your first duties since being initiated as the complete Imperial Guard so listen up!"

"Nara and Sarutobi. I want you both to find the best way to infiltrate Empire for the Midsummer feast at the palace." Both men nodded their head in confirmation.

"Hyuga, Shiranui and Uzumaki. The three of you need to keep on your eyes on her Imperial Majesty at all times. We need to be as vigilant as possible now that Lady Haruno is nearing the age of coronation and we cannot afford to let anything happen to her that may prevent her from becoming the Empress."

"So what am I supposed to do then?" asked Kakashi.

"Well," sighed Sakumo returning to his seat, "I think the Empress is in dire need for a fiancé don't you think?"

* * *

><p>So after a looooong hiatus, I'm back! 1st year of university was quite hectic and I'm looking forward to continuing this story. Just one or two things need to fix this chapter.<p> 


	2. Kidnapped

Ok, so I know that it has been two months since i've updated this story and I apologise! I thank you all for your patience and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Disclamer: I don't and will never own Naruto.**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 2<span>

_**KIDNAPPED**_

~ . ~ . ~ . ~

Sakura sat at her window dressed in only a long nightgown. It was barely four in the afternoon, but the rain clouds approaching from the east, cast darkness over the empire. Sakura had retired to her bedroom earlier than usual. She was tired, not physically but mentally and she wanted nothing better than to get the hell away from the viceroy. She exhaled and twisted the ring on her right hand, her fingers brushing against the Latin words engraved into the steel.

_Someone is trying to kill me, _she thought as she stared out at the palace gardens, _and there is a secret guard that is in charge of protecting me and the crown in the shadows_. Sakura slipped the ring off of her finger and stared at the crest for what seemed to be the umpteenth time. _How could there be a separate private guard that was only known to the Imperial family?_ She questioned again. She had, at first, thought that the idea was preposterous when Tsunade had enlightened her, but then her eyes strayed back to the Haruno crest again…

_If my father's ring really means this, then why didn't he tell me!_ She took a deep breath and stood up from her perch by the window and walked to her vanity table. She placed the ring gently within its velvet confinements and took one more look. She returned it to her vanity table and grabbed her cloak and pulling it over her nightgown. She needed answers and she was going to find them. She slipped on her boots and, for good measure, shoved a dagger, a Haruno heirloom into her right boot, leaving its ivory hilt exposed.

She exited her bedroom and tiptoed out into the lounge. Tsunade was asleep, or more like passed out, on the couch; the evidence in the form of an empty bottle of single-malt whiskey lying on the ground. She closed the door to her quarters behind her quietly, before taking a right to another secret passage, which led to the stables near to the eastern wing.

The sun sank lower in the horizon allowing the forest to become prematurely dark, with its canopy casting shadows over the palace grounds. The stable hands had already retired to their quarters for the night, so Sakura had no problems in retrieving her saddle and bridle from the stores and unleashing her snowy white, Shagya Arabian, from his stall. The stallion obediently allowed his mistress to place the saddle on his back and was careful not to clamp down on her fingers when she set the bit into place. She adjusted the straps over his nozzle before pulling him gently out of the stables and through the eastern gate, which led to the immense evergreen forest, connecting the palace to the Fire Country border.

She rode subconsciously along the well-known riding trail, her eyes slightly clouded by the billowing mist, which appeared as it neared twilight. As the nocturnal temperature kicked in, Sakura shivered and held the bridle within her right hand while she clenched her cloak close to her neck, shielding the exposed skin from the chill. She knew it was dangerous being outside this late but she needed an escape. _But from what? What am I running from?_ she thought as her steed trotted through the evergreen. She reached a familiar fork in the trail and she dug her heels gently into the animal's sides and pulled on the bridle to go left.

The horse's steps sped up as she shook the leather bridle in her hand. After about five minutes of riding at this place, she had reached a clearing which had not completely rejuvenated after the fire. Sakura pulled on the reigns causing the magnificent beast to come to a halt. Sakura swung her right leg over and jumped down to observe her surroundings. Flashes of heat and crimson flames came to mind as walked nearer to the low shrubs. She spun around slowly only to cast her eyes on the abnormal precipice, from with _he_ had descended…

'…_He was tall, much taller than her father and also unlike her father's reddish brown hair; this man had unusual silver hair which stuck up as though the strands were defying gravity. His face was masked with only a cloth that covered the lower path of his face. His chest plate and arm and shin guards were also different; they were silver metal plates, not bronze chain link like the palace guard…'_

She closed her eyes and raised her face up to the heaven, breathing in the nighttime air while relishing in the memory…

'…_Suddenly he moved. One moment he was standing on the edge of the precipice overlooking the forest, ten feet in the air and half a mile away from her and now he was directly in front of her blocking her small silhouette from the assassin's view…'_

Suddenly there was a faint whistling of breeze, passing through the foliage of the trees to her right. Sakura stopped abruptly and her eyes widened in extreme shock as the noise came nearer. And then she felt it; the pain as a silver tipped arrow shot out from the trees and cut her sharply and deeply in her right shoulder slicing the fabric cleanly.

Her stallion became spooked and it reared on its hind legs and kicking out at his mistress unintentionally before scampering away. The impact of the horse's hoof exerting immense pressure on her foot caused Sakura to yelp in astonishment and fall backwards onto the grassy forest floor. She tried to stand but her ankle gave way; she could feel it swelling in her boot.

She breathed in sharply at the pain attempting to stand once more, shifting he weight to her other foot. _I need to get out of here!_ she thought and took another painful step forward. Another arrow whizzed past her face causing her to scream out. "Who's there?" she shrieked loudly, instantly wishing that her voice could stop quivering in fear. In response, she heard the sound of a boot crunching on dried leaves and twigs on the path, a couple meters behind her. Instead of turning around, Sakura immediately bolted in the opposite direction towards a thickset of ash trees.

She hid behind the rough bark and slid down to the ground holding her ankle gingerly, breathing heavily and shaking in fear. The sound of footsteps grew louder as the person walked stealthily towards her hiding spot. When he had reached right in front of the tree, he stopped abruptly. Sakura clenched her teeth and rose from her spot gingerly, leaning on the trunk for support. Her body tensed and she drew in a sharp breath before reaching the ivory hilt of her dagger and reactively making a slashing movement at the body behind her.

The man grabbed her wrist and pinned her to the trunk. Sakura shrieked and closed her eyes as her back hit the rough bark. She opened her eyes slightly to observe the man who was going to take her life. Slivers of green stared into a pair of mismatched eyes. Her eyes widened as the man's eyes narrowed on her.

And at that moment her only instinct was to scream bloody murder until she felt a sharp blow to her shoulder knocking her senses into darkness.

* * *

><p>Dusk was drawing nearer. The sun retreated behind the dense canopy of the Konoha forest, leaving behind a blanket of condensation, which caused Kakashi's gravity defying hair to become drenched within seconds…<p>

…And inducing Genma's nocturnal allergies.

"Achoo!" he sneezed loudly and rubbed his running nose with the back of his hand.

"Watch it Genma!" Kakashi warned darkly, moving away from his partner as his sneezing escalated. "I don't want to catch any sickness that you contracted between here and Ame."

Genma snorted thickly and immediately succumbed to a coughing fit as the phlegm congested is trachea. Kakashi rolled his lone eye before shifting the foliage of the bush they were currently concealed within to observe the young pink-haired woman at her window.

"Oh please Hatake! As if you could contract anything when wearing that mask twenty-four-seven," Genma wheezed while trying to clear his air passage. His eyes refocused on the young empress, who was staring out at the grounds blankly.

They observed her for a few minutes before she got up suddenly from her perch and disappeared from their view.

"Where the hell is she going?" asked Kakashi.

"Kakashi. _Chill_. She's probably getting ready to go to bed or something. Worried about her?" Genma snickered at the frown between is silver-haired friend's eyebrows.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" asked Kakashi as he saw the only lit lamp in the empress' quarters was extinguished, leaving the room in complete darkness.

"I mean, you're worried about her because her safety is our responsibility," responded Genma. "Wait! What are _you_ talking about?" When Kakashi ignored him he continued, "Please don't tell me you're taking this pseudo-engagement seriously."

"Genma, you have heard my father I presume? I have to make it as real as possible in order to fool Danzo…"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," retorted Genma. "I still think you're taking this a little too seriously. But I would too if I was pretending to marry _the_ freaking Imperial leader of Fire Country. And besides, it does help a bit that Empress Haruno is one very good-looking individual."

"Shut up, Genma."

"Hit a nerve, Kakashi?" his brown haired friend sneered.

"Just shut up you idiot and look!" Kakashi pulled back the foliage some more and pointed at the person wearing a black cloak running across the darkened grounds, towards the horse stables. The inconspicuous pink hair flashed beneath the hood of her cloak.

"What the _fuck _is she doing?" screeched Genma as he looked at the woman, who had just unlocked the doors to the stables, entered and emerged a few minutes later guiding a snowy-white horse towards the gate a few yards away from them.

Kakashi swore. "Genma, get to the horse and circle her path."

"What? Are you telling me that you're going to follow her – while she's riding the horse – by foot? Have you lost your _mind_ Hatake?"

"Just go, damnit! We don't have much time…" The gate creaked open and Empress Sakura Haruno mounted her steed and rode into the forest.

Genma jumped down from his perch and whistled to the black horse hiding in the shadows before mounting and taking off into the evergreen, taking the track to her right.

Kakashi followed Genma out of their hiding spot, but only when he was absolutely sure that the Empress was far enough to not be able to site him in pursuit. He ran lightly through the woods keeping her trail, careful not to upset anything as to give away is position. He was glad he wore his guardsman uniform, for it gave him sufficient camouflage; not that he needed much because the lack of light in the forest presently.

She continued riding aimlessly through the forest along the winding trail, never sensing that she was being followed. If she was a member of the guard, Kakashi decided, she would already be dead. _Maybe that's why it's our job to protect her_.

By the way the forest started to thin out, they were approaching a clearing, which was thrust into darkness from the shadow of a fold mountain as the moon rose in the night sky. Kakashi didn't follow the empress as she ventured further away since he didn't want to risk being seen. Instead, he climbed the birch tree he was currently hiding behind and stood on one of the thick branches jutting out from the trunk near the midpoint of the tree; he was just high enough to keep an eye on his ward and for any disturbances within a rough fifty metre radius.

_What the hell is she doing here? Surely she knows that her life is in jeopardy,_ thought Kakashi as he observed Lady Sakura dismount her horse and take in her surroundings. _Surely this girl had completely lost it! Why else would she return to this place?_ After all it was the site were the imperial family had almost been completely wiped out.

Kakashi sighed. He remembered that day a little too well, despite the fact that he had been trying to rid himself of the experience. It was, subsequently, his very first mission as a newly instated member of the emperor's private guard. It was also the first and only mission he had ever failed. He would never forget the disappointed look on his father's face and the glares he had received from the rest of the entourage when he had returned half dead, toted in by Asuma (who had been previously inducted following his father's death), bearing the news to the rest of the six-man guard that Emperor Haruno and his consort had been murdered. And under his watch, no less!

They had felt little comfort at the fact that Lady Sakura's life was preserved due to his protection, and instead on thanking him for at least keeping the little girl's life save, they were busy shouting what his punishment should be and had begun to draft a letter to the viceroy stating that they were recalling Shizune back to Ame and replacing her with Tsunade Senju, a medicinal specialist who worked closely with the guard, to become Sakura Haruno's guardian. They claimed in the letter, which was forged using the cardinal's seal and signature, that it was recommended by the late emperor in his last Will and Testament, that in the event that anything should happen to him and his wife, a member of the Senju family would be request to resume their duty as the guardian to the heir to the Konoha Empire. This only served to piss Shimura Danzo even more, considering his ever present feud with the Senju family specifically Tsunade's grandfather, and the first captain of the Imperial guard, Hashirama Senju.

Not to mention the fact that he had been once again usurped by the Imperial guard in the assassination attempt, and just the mere thought that Tsunade, off all people, was going to take care of the child until she had turned twenty. So any more chances taken on the emperor's legacy would be easily dealt with by the Senju woman herself.

Kakashi's eyes remained peeled onto his surroundings. He was not going to let Lady Sakura slip away from him and cause an entire empire to crumble because of his ineptitude.

The leaves from a nearby tree rustled abnormally. Kakashi pushed the cloth, covering his left eye up his forehead before narrowing both eyes, onyx and ruby, onto the foliage ten yards north east. Kakashi took off his glove and pulled is mask a fraction off of his lips to apply some saliva to is index finger before replacing the covering on his face and holding his finger before him feeling no changes in wind conditions that would induce the extra movement.

The leader of the Imperial guard walked stealthily along the branch and jumped down on the forest floor, keeping himself hidden properly behind the shadow of the tree. Lady Sakura wondered further towards the part of the clearing where the grass and shrubs had adamantly refused to regrow after fifteen years.

_Why is she back here after all these years? _thought Kakashi as he moved closer to her secretly. _What does she have to gain by returning to this place? Doesn't she know that she's in danger …_

His thoughts were cut short as the leaves shook violently as the sound of a thin nylon whipping an object through the air sharply, as it made its way towards the pink-haired woman, cutting her sharply on the shoulder and spooking her stead. The arrow moved through the air almost as fast as the speed of light – not even Kakashi Hatake's sharp eyes could have seen it before it reached its target. But even though he didn't see the first shot, his sharp eyes were still able to pinpoint the location of the skillful archer hiding discretely within the shadows of the leaves a few metres away and above him.

Kakashi moved swiftly. His speed accelerated as he moved towards the would-be assassin as he raised his bow and arrow obliquely. Kakashi pulled himself up on the bough and climbed upward before swinging his legs upwards, knocking the archer's shins. The darkly clad person lost his footing and released another arrow at the empress's foot as she took off a full speed towards the opposite end of the clearing.

Kakashi pulled the archer's back onto his front as they fell through the branches. He pulled out is dagger and immobilized the man by mercilessly severing the tendons in his upper arms before reaching for is carotid artery. Before hitting the ground, the silver haired man pushed the body away from him and jumped lightly onto the ground on the balls of his feet. He used the same bloody dagger to rip the sleeve off of the corpse's right arm, revealing the swirl of the Viceroy's ANBU squad.

"These men should all be assassinated for committing treason against the only and rightful leader of Fire Country," Kakashi muttered angrily, as he replaced his blade and started walking in the direction of Sakura, occasionally scanning the area for any other ANBU that may be in the area.

He arrived in the clearing only to see the quickly retreating back of the young woman, who was clutching her wounded arm. Kakashi pursued her as she left the clearing, running haphazardly towards the trees before choosing one of the thick trunks of the ash to cower behind.

Kakashi rolled his eyes and continued towards her to see how much she was injured. His movements stilled as he noticed the sliver gleam of the dagger being removed from her boot by her uninjured hand. He watched her cautiously as she her back straightened gripping the ivory hilt. As she turned around he moved sideways to avoid her line of sight, for he really was not in the mood to be cut opened by a woman who obviously had never learned to handle a weapon. He had direct orders and there was no way in hell he was going to disobey.

He accelerated towards her and grabbed her wrist. This evidently was not the most tactful decision he had ever made; for the minute he turned her body to face him, she looked into his mismatched eyes and let out a high pitched scream before he knocked her unconscious, by pressing the pressure point in her neck.

"I'm really sorry about this, Your Imperial Majesty," he apologized, before hoisting her dead weight over his shoulder. "But you'll thank me for this one day when you're able to rule without a dark cloud hanging over your head all day, every day."

He walked briskly towards the rendezvous point where he found Genma lounging on the river bank with his stead, a black Arabian, drinking water from the river, which flowed out of the thickest part of the Forest into the Rock country in the north-west.

"Hey Kakashi, what….." Genma's voice trailed off as he turned to see his friend and the unconscious body of the Fire country's empress upon his shoulder. He watched as the silver-haired man throw her over the saddle of his stead and strap her down to it. "Kakashi! What the hell did you do?" he exclaimed.

Kakashi sighed and pulled himself up onto the beast ignoring Genma. "Let's go, before the army comes sniffing around," he ordered before pulling on the horse's bridle and started moving towards the border.

"_Besides,"_ he thought glancing back to watch the pink curtain of hair, "_I had to stop her from screaming somehow."_


End file.
